26 Sep, 2020
Two superbly bred Hawkes Racing colts have fought out the finish of the Group One Golden Rose as Rothfire's Everest campaign came under a cloud. The Queensland flyer, who started an odds-on favourite, punctured late t... Continue Reading
The Epsom Handicap is a $1 million open handicap Group 1 race held at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney. The open handicap is run over 1600m and in 2020 will be held on Saturday, October 3, the same day as the Metropolitan and the Darley Flight Stakes.
In 2019, the Chris Waller-trained Kolding won the Epsom Handicap, beating out fan favourite Te Akau Shark and Star Of The Seas. After the Epsom Handicap, Kolding went on to win the inaugural Golden Rose, which boasts a $7.5 million prize pool. Te Akau Shark also went on to perform well, placing in the Cox Plate and then winning the Chipping Norton Stakes in early 2020.
The Epsom Handicap was first run back in 1865 and was won by Dundee. It gets its name from Epsom Downs Racecourse, which is a famous track in England. Some of the greats of the turf have won the race, including Shannon, Imposing, Super Impose, Shogun Lodge, Desert War and Winx.
A number of horses have won the Epsom Handicap in consecutive years. Masquerade was the first to do it, claiming victory in 1882 and 1884. Since then the likes of Chatham (‘32 & ‘33), Super Impose (‘90 & ‘91) and Desert War (‘04 & ‘05) have all replicated the feat.
Kolding too strong for the late finishing Te Akau Shark in the Epsom Handicap.
Bossy is back in town. pic.twitter.com/GYRCwWpVFI
— 7HorseRacing ? (@7horseracing) October 5, 2019
Chris Waller has had great success in the Epsom Handicap in recent time, managing to win it four of the last seven years. His winners in that time were Boban, He’s Your Man, Winx and Kolding.
In the 2019 edition of the race, Kolding clocked 1:34.80 to win, however, the fastest 1600m time in the race over the last 20 years belongs to Hartnell. He managed a 1:32.73 when he won the race in 2018.
The Epsom Handicap is a $1 million Group 1, so understandably it normally has a very strong field. It is also relatively early in the spring, so a number of the top horses go from the Epsom to more of the top Group 1s later in the carnival. Nominations for the race close on September 28 and final acceptances are on September 30.
Over recent years, the Epsom Handicap has been a good race for punters. Four of the last five winners had starting prices of $6.50 or less, with three of them being favourites of equal favourites. The only outlier in the last five years was Hartnell, who in 2018 won at a starting price of $20.
| PLACE | HORSE | TRAINER | JOCKEY | SP |
| 1 | Kolding | Chris Waller | Glen Boss | $5.50 |
| 2 | Te Akau Shark | Jamie Richards | James McDonald | $5.50 |
| 3 | Star Of The Seas | Chris Waller | Michael Dee | $13 |
| 4 | Gem Song | Kris Lees | Brenton Avdulla | $11 |
| 5 | Rock | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Kerrin McEvoy | $11 |
| 6 | Nettoyer | Wendy Roche | Ben Thompson | $31 |
| 7 | Cascadian | James Cummings | Robbie Dolan | $15 |
| 8 | Fifty Stars | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Tim Clark | $15 |
| 9 | Desert Lord | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | James Innes Jnr | $26 |
| 10 | Best Of Days | James Cummings | Tommy Berry | $26 |
| 11 | Mr Marathon Man | Michael Moronoey | Dean Holland | $61 |
| 12 | Unforgotten | Chris Waller | Jay Ford | $26 |
| 13 | The Candy Man | Barry Baldwin | Brock Ryan | $101 |
| 14 | Junipal | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Damien Thornton | $26 |
| 15 | Kaonic | Chris Waller | Andrew Gibbons | $61 |
| 16 | Mantastic | Chris Waller | Andrew Adkins | $101 |
| 17 | Dreamforce | John Thompson | Nash Rawiller | $7 |
| 18 | Le Juge | Chris Waller | Ms Jess Taylor | $201 |
| 19 | Archedemus | Gwenda Markwell | Dom Tourneur | $61 |
2019 – Kolding (1:34.80)
2018 – Hartnell (1:32.73)
2017 – Happy Clapper (1:33.17)
2016 – Hauraki (1:33.87)
2015 – Winx (1:34.58)
2014 – He’s Your Man (1:33.34)
2013 – Boban (1:34.43)
2012 – Fat Al (1:34.56)
2011 – Secret Admirer (1:35.59)
2010 – Captain Sonador (1:34.12)
